


Deliver Hope

by NobleRose



Category: Halo (Video Games) & Related Fandoms
Genre: Angst, Fluff and Angst, Gay, M/M, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, one of my two rarepairs, possibly smut i havent decided, the other being kat/six, which will Not be in this story, youll love this i swear, youll ship it by the end
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-22
Updated: 2018-06-26
Packaged: 2019-05-27 02:07:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15014309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NobleRose/pseuds/NobleRose
Summary: Emile is cold, solitary, cruel, aggressive. Everyone who's ever met him knows that.People have wondered, at times, what it would take to change him.But no one has ever bothered.Until now.





	1. Chapter 1

“C’mon, Carter, gimme a chance with him. There’s gotta be a reason he hasn’t opened up! Give me one night, okay?” Thom called as Carter turned his back. The Commander turned around again, giving a sigh. 

“Thom, listen. I know you think you can fix him or whatever, but he *doesn’t want to be fixed*. He hates people, and your jokes aren’t gonna change that.”

Thom shook his head. “No jokes, Commander. Just trust me. One night. Don’t start planning to send him packing yet, alright?” 

Another sigh from Carter. It really was just his luck.

“Alright, Thom. One night.”

Thom fist pumped in the air as he walked out of the room.

 

Emile’s plans for the day were the same as any other; do patrols, sharpen his knife, take night watch. The man hardly slept, Noble Team had noted - seemed to be a bit of an insomniac, as he took watch most nights and would last all night often. They had to hope he wouldn’t fall asleep on the job - but so far, that wasn’t a problem. He was just as alert as ever, every battle aware and hyperaggressive as usual. 

Night watch bored him, but he didn’t mind it other than that - he had plenty of time to think, to clean his weapons. Wasn’t like he wanted to talk to any of the others anyway. As he headed out to the watch position, though, movement caught his eye. The newbie - Emile didn’t really care much for him, as was to be expected - was approaching him. 

“Hey, Emile, mind if I share watch with you tonight?” Thom asked, seeming relaxed enough.

“I do, actually. I like spending the time alone.”

“Aw, come on, man. Carter’s getting on my ass trying to get you to stop taking watches - at least alone. Lemme come up with ya.” It was a half-truth - Carter was on everyone trying to get Emile to take a break from the night watch - but Thom also wanted to try to get the man to open up a little. There had to be some reason he was so solitary. It wasn’t his nature, Thom had a gut feeling.

Emile shrugged. “Fine, I guess. C’mon, I’m headed out now.” 

Thom followed after, grinning wide under his helmet.

They sat in silence for about an hour before Thom broke the quiet of the night with a question. 

“Emile, why do you hate us?”

Emile shook his head. “Why do you care? S’long as it doesn’t impede the mission, Carter ain’t give a shit, so why do you?”

“Because I want to be friends.” Thom put his hand on the other man’s shoulder. “Come on, Emile-” The man brushed Thom’s hand aggressively off his shoulder, Thom recoiling a bit at the unnecessary force used. 

“I don’t. Now shut up, aight?”

“I… no.”

“What?”

“I said NO, Emile. I don’t want to shut up. I want to understand you. I want to be close to you, if you can stand to let someone in past these bullshit walls for ten seconds, alright? I know you’re not all hate and rage and murder. No one is. So please, damn you, just let me in a little bit.”

Emile sat stock-still, dumbstruck, for a few moments. Then, he spoke.

“You think some dumb monologue is gonna get me to tell you my sob story? Think again, pal. I’m not interested in being friends with people who are either gonna turn on me or die when I’m closest to ‘em. So fuck. The hell. Off.”

“I…” Thom shivered, the cold night air suddenly feeling a lot colder. “... Fine. I guess I oughta give up on you, just like everyone else has, just like Carter will if I don’t pull this off, which I guess I’m not gonna. So I guess I won’t be seeing you around for much longer, huh.” He rose from his seated position, abruptly, and turned, walking back toward the camp Noble Team had made.

“... Hey. Thom.” He turned around as quickly as he’d moved to leave - Emile was bringing his hopes up, despite his better judgment. 

“Yeah, Emile?”

“... Why do you care so damn much about someone you don’t even know?” 

Thom shrugged. “I don’t know. People tell me I have a good heart, right? I guess I always took that personally, I WANT to be that way. I want to be a beacon for people… I want to deliver hope. I thought I could give you some hope of friendship. But if you don’t want that… I understand, I do. Not everyone wants people to help them - some are just set in their ways.”

“Mm.”

There was silence in the air for a few moments.

“Thom, I wanna show you something.” Thom walked over, taking a seat next to Emile on the bench. What Emile did next shocked him to his core - it was something no member of Noble Team had ever seen him do.

He took his helmet off.

Without the helmet, Thom noticed two things. One: Emile was a lot… handsomer… than he had expected. And two, he had a grotesque burn scar on the right side of his face, going up to right below his right eye.

Unable to contain himself, he asked, “What the hell happened to you?”

Emile laughed. “That’s what people always used to ask. Reason I started wearing my helmet all the time, instead of just sometimes. It happened right after augmentations…” He trailed off. He didn’t want to talk about it, clearly, and Thom really wasn’t sure whether to push the subject at this point. He was half-convinced he should just take this as an incredible show of trust and leave it… but another part of him wanted so badly to keep talking, to press Emile, to understand him.

That second part won out.

“What gave you the scar?”

The man shrugged, grinned, but the smile did not reach his eyes. “Accident. Explosion in a building we were in, bomb detonated too early. Flaming piece of shrapnel hit me in the face, got lodged for a few seconds, gave me the gash and the burn scar both.” He shook his head. “I lost my squad to that explosion. Not that I really knew them. I was the only one who made it out.”

Thom didn’t know what to say except I’m sorry. “Emile…”

“Hey, don’t go getting too sympathetic. It don’t hurt now, so don’t worry about it, aight?”

Thom nodded, his mind going blank. “I… Alright.” He turned to go once more, but Emile stopped him, surprised him with a hand on his shoulder.

“You don’t have to leave. I…”  
“Thank you for telling me your story, Emile.” Thom responded, his grin returning.

“Oh, man. You didn’t even get the half of it today. Maybe next watch, aight?” If it was possible, Thom’s grin under his helmet grew even wider.

“Alright, man.”

They spent the rest of their watch in silence - but Thom had to say, it was a much more comfortable silence than before.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emile and Thom get a little closer, day by day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope the readers are enjoying this! It's been fun to write. I'm gonna try to be posting chapters every couple of days, but I'll give updates if I don't think that's going to happen. Enjoy the second chapter! The third one will probably be up Tuesday or earlier (it's Sunday now).

Carter had viewed Thom’s attempts to get Emile to open up as a success, overall. Certainly he had not expected it, and he had no way to certify Thom’s account of what happened, but the other Spartan was not a liar by nature - in fact, he was notoriously bad at it. So the Commander had grudgingly agreed not to discharge Emile from Noble Team - rather, he would wait and see if the man would lessen his aggressive tendencies as he grew closer to Thom.

Meanwhile, Thom’s night watches with Emile were going… decently. As well as to be expected, Thom supposed - one night was not going to be nearly enough to earn Emile’s full trust, but it had certainly been a step. They had been taking watches together since then - awake together for the full nights, of course. Emile clearly didn’t trust Thom to do it alone, or he’d sleep for a little bit of the night at least. 

Or maybe he was just stubborn. You never knew with Emile.

Either way, Thom was attempting to make progress, and while it was slow, it was *something*. That was all he cared about.

On the fourteenth watch they shared - weeks into their encampment, as they weren’t the only ones taking shifts - there was a change in Emile’s demeanor. He approached Thom of his own will - the first difference. The second was how he spoke. His normal cocky attitude was replaced with an almost respectful demeanor, and he spoke softly, quietly, as if he feared someone would overhear what it was he was saying. And perhaps he was, for it was of a sensitive nature - at least to him.

“Hey, Thom?”

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“I’m gonna tell you something, and I want you to listen real close, because I’m sure as hell not sayin’ it twice.”

“Affirmative.” Thom said, crossing his fingers that it wasn’t just another jab at his “soft” personality.

“You asked me the reason why I hated you all. All of Noble. Truth is - I don’t really ‘hate’ so much as I fear. I fear watching my friends die.” He paused for a moment. Thom opened his mouth to speak, but Emile stopped him with a finger held up, signaling don’t. “I’m afraid of watching them die again, Thom. Augmentations caused one friend’s death, and training caused another. I’m tired of losing people just when I think I’m safe.”

Thom nodded, not wanting to interrupt in case Emile wanted to continue.

“I don’t trust anyone not to leave me again, whether it’s their fault or not. So there. There you have it, I don’t actually hate anyone.” Another nod from Thom.

“I just don’t want anyone else to get into my heart and then destroy it when they die.”

Thom gently placed his hand on Emile’s shoulder. When Emile didn’t move him, he carefully, slowly put an arm around the other man’s neck. Emile didn’t stop him - in fact, it almost felt to Thom as if he was leaning into the touch rather than acting averse to it. The willingness to accept contact surprised him - Emile really was softer than people thought.

He grinned, but didn’t show it. He wasn’t about to get to picking on the guy, not when his trust was so clearly fragile still.

As the night went by, they continued to sit in silence - Emile leaning ever so slightly more into the touch of his companion.

As days passed, Thom began to branch out. He would speak to Emile in passing - never for long, lest someone get on Emile about going soft or something. He would pat him on the shoulder or back - sometimes resulting in a flinch, other times resulting in a thumbs-up and a nod. Those were Thom’s pride.

Why were they Thom’s pride? That was what he kept asking himself. Why was he trying so hard for so little gain, with a person he didn’t need to get along with in the first place?

A little voice whispered in the back of his mind that it was because his feelings were more than just a desire for friendship.

He told that little voice to shut the hell up.

 

In other news, Thom noted, Emile had started taking his helmet off when they were on watch.

Of course, Thom did so in return, showing Emile his face - but that wasn’t new to Emile. He’d seen what Thom looked like, had watched him from his distant positions or while the team did briefings. The real trust here came in Emile’s comfort with Thom. It had begun to seem, to Thom, as if there truly was a side of Emile that he simply refused to show - for better and for worse.

When the Spartans were alone together, one would be able to see a clear bond forming - if only one could see them together at all.

 

“Emile, DUCK!” 

A piece of shrapnel flew directly over Emile’s head as he dodged with expert timing. The building was falling apart, the Innies had known they were coming, they had to get out NOW, where were the others? Thom could barely think as things ran through his head, coupling with fear and a rush of adrenaline to make a man who knew only to run as fast as he could to escape the collapse. There were people in this building, civilians, how could the Insurrectionists do this? Thom shuddered as he cleared the last area the collapse would be able to damage. Over comms, he could hear a static-y voice shouting orders - it had to be Carter, he knew. Headcount, checking who was present and safe. 

“Kat?”

“Alive and well, Commander.”

“Jun?” 

It took the sniper a moment to respond, but Carter was met with an “affirmative”.

“Jorge?”

“Good on my front, Commander.”

“Emile, Thom? You’re alright?”

Thom replied with “affirmative” before he could even really process the other name said - Emile. Emile wasn’t responding.

Where was he? He had been running next to Thom, why hadn’t he seen the man get out? Had he… no. No, Thom wasn’t about to let him go so easy.

“Emile was with me, he can’t be far. I’ll go back and check, see if he’s just lagging behind.”

“Alright, Thom. Be careful, alright?”

“Yessir, you know me. When am I not, right?” A short laugh from Carter, and the comms clicked off. Thom took off running.

He just had to hope he’d be there in time.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emile is a sleepy boy.

Thom ran, and ran, and ran. For what felt like eons, he climbed through the rubble of the collapsed building, calling Emile’s name. His heart was pounding not from physical exertion but from fear - fear that he would lose Emile after all the work he had put in to get him to open up, after starting to consider him a friend.

“Emile. EMILE!” But there was nothing. No response.

And then a piece of rubble shifted. It caught Thom’s attention immediately - he was trained to recognize even the slightest of movements. He dashed over, careful not to step on any lifted rubble, and pulled the piece up.

Underneath the rubble was Emile.

“Emile! Hey, man, answer me. C’mon, Emile.”

He heard a small voice, shaking and quiet and young, squeak a response.

“Sir?” 

Thom gently lifted Emile’s form into his arms. He didn’t need to check a pulse - upon further inspection, he could see Emile’s chest rising and falling with short, ragged breaths. His concern was his friend… but why was there a second voice?

He looked down and saw a small child, scratches on his face and arms - some of which were bleeding, but nothing profuse. Thom figured if there had been a serious injury, the kid would have died by now anyway.

He knelt down. The child spoke again. “Sir… are you this man’s friend?”

“I… yes. Yes, I am. Was he… protecting you?” Thom asked, the mere thought shocking him. Emile had never cared about civilian casualties, not to his knowledge, so protecting one with his own body would be out of the question.

“Yeah… is he gonna be okay? He saved me, the… the building was falling, is he okay?”

“He’s going to be fine. I will take him back to my team, and we will help him. As for you, we need to get you to a shelter. There’s one nearby, I believe.”

Emile stirred in Thom’s arms. The motion drew Thom’s focus back to why he came.

“Emile, can you hear me?” Thom asked, worry evident in his voice even if you couldn’t see his face.

“Yeah…” Emile whispered, voice hoarse - probably from dust inhalation. “Yeah, Thom, I’m fine.”

“Okay. Are you badly injured?”

“Rubble… probably bruised me up… but I don’t think anything other than that.”

“Okay…” Thom breathed a sigh of relief. “Okay. I’ve gotta get you back to Carter and call evac for the civilian you protected.” Emile shifted, looking up at Thom.

“Kid’s okay?”

“Yeah, Thom, the kid’s fine.”

“... Good.” Thom hoisted Emile up into a proper carry, and looked at the kid.

“I’m gonna call an evac for ya. I gotta get this guy back to our team, but they’ll be here in a few minutes to take you to a shelter, alright?”

“Okay.” The kid was visibly shaken, but seemed to be calming down after realizing the one who protected him was relatively unharmed.

“You’re gonna be fine. Stay here, stay put.”

“Yes sir.” With that, Thom began the trek back to the temporary Noble base.

 

With Emile’s wounds bandaged and treated, he woke in a mere few hours. After a thorough examination, Thom had concluded that he was only minorly wounded - he had been lucky the rubble hadn’t crushed bones. Emile felt almost like a baby chick, Thom being the mother hen fussing over him as his minor injuries healed. It was… frustrating, but there was at the same time a sense of comfort that came from it.

Comfort? Emile wasn’t used to that at all. But it felt nice, safe, having Thom worrying about him. Something about Thom felt genuine when others had never managed to give that impression, felt honest when it always felt like everyone else was faking it or lying to him.

Was that… what being friends was like? He really wasn’t sure. In some ways, he barely remembered ever having friends. He’d been closed off, hardened to the world, for so long that it felt almost like he’d never been open in the first place.

He considered it while his wounds healed, and eventually came to a conclusion.

He would ask Thom. Surely he’d know, right? The man seemed to know a lot more about… feelings… than Emile did.

 

“Hey Thom?”

“Yeah?” That was how most of their night watch conversations started - Thom had learned that Emile needed to initiate talking to really feel comfortable. It wasn’t Thom’s preferred way of communicating, he tended to talk peoples’ ears off, but if it worked for Emile, he’d get used to it.

He went out of his way a lot for Emile these days. Not that he minded, of course - if he wanted to get the man to open up, he had no choice, and it really wasn’t that big of a deal to him - but it was something he’d taken note of. He knew the others were starting to notice as well, Kat and Carter had both commented on Emile’s closeness compared to before. He just hoped they wouldn’t ask Emile about it - the man didn’t need that stress.

Thom was pulled out of his thoughts as Emile finally asked him the question he’d been pondering.

“What are we?”

“What do you mean?” Thom asked, taken aback by the phrasing of the question.

“I mean… are we… friends. I… I don’t know how this works, damnit, and I’m sick of being so confused about what the fuck is going on.”

“I…” Thom paused to think about the concept. If Emile thought they were friends, this was a massive step, but if he was angry about Thom’s attempts, his preferred answer to the question might not be well-received.

Was it worth the risk?

Thom decided it was.

“I was hoping you’d consider us friends, yeah. But if that isn’t what you want…”

“No, I just meant… damnit, this is so STUPID. I don’t know how to say what I want, Thom. I haven’t told people I cared about them at ALL in… fuck, 18 years or so. It’s been so long since I had anyone show they cared about me, it’s been so long since I bothered trying to care back… I don’t know.”

Thom gently, slowly put a hand on Emile’s shoulder. The man instinctively leaned into the contact, surprising Thom, and almost seemed to curl against him - as if he was trying to take shelter from his own feelings.

Thom felt bad for him.

“Then don’t worry about it, okay?”

“I… what?” Emile cocked his head, confused.

“Don’t worry about knowing what exactly is going on. We’re friends, yeah? We care about each other, or at very least I care a lot about you. I want to help you, but I want to do it at YOUR pace, not anyone else’s.” He paused for a moment, thinking of how he wanted to phrase things.

“I want to do this in a way that makes you happy, Emile. I want you to be happy. If this is stressing you out, talking to me, we can take a break.”

“No.” Emile said, firmly. “No, I don’t want you to… Don’t leave.”

Thom nodded. “Okay. I’m here. Not going anywhere, okay?”

Emile said nothing, just curled into Thom’s side. Thom held him close, uncertain of what this meant for them. Was that little voice right? Did Thom really have… feelings… for Emile, feelings beyond friendship? And would Emile be ready to handle that, now or ever?

He heard a gentle snore next to him and realized that Emile was out like a light. Instinctively, he grinned, pulling him a little closer and holding him there. Without thinking, he whispered three words. Small words. Easy to pronounce, hard to put meaning behind.

“I love you.”

Emile stirred for a moment, then nestled closer to Thom. He could tell from the sleeping man’s breathing that he hadn’t woken. 

He would let Emile rest.

Anything and everything else could wait.


End file.
